What's Next?
by CBloom2
Summary: Just when they thought everything was settling down - fate once again intervenes (as well as a ceiling) - some hurt Ethan (surprise!) caring Cal and Cute Tilly!
1. Chapter 1

**So a guest reviewer for my last story suggested this storyline - thank you very much - I love it when someone suggests something and I can't get it out of my head!**

 **This is completely made up but has a kind of a spoiler because Cal has a baby daughter. I hold my hand up now to say sthat I anything medical is completely made up by me so apologies for anything I get wrong.**

 **As usual, I don't own anyone that you recognise except Tilly, seeing as I don't know the name of Cal's daughter yet.**

 **What's Next?**

Dr Ethan Hardy released the clasps and gently lifted the baby out of the car seat, "Well hello there Miss Tilly - nice to see you awake - have you got a smile for your Uncle Ethan?" He pulled a silly face, causing the little baby to smile widely, "That's it, good girl. Now remember to be grumpy for daddy..." he chuckled to himself as he lifted the youngster onto his shoulder, grabbed the bag and made his way into the ED.

To say the last few months had been a rollercoaster was putting it mildly. To arrive home one night after shift to find a baby on the doorstep was alarming, but to find out that his brother Cal was the father, was quite frankly frightening. After a few rocky weeks where Cal had all but disowned her, the brothers had settled into a manageable routine. Connie had been gracious enough to organise the rota so that they were on opposite shifts so that they could cover the child care problem. He smiled as he heard a small hiccup coming from his neice. He had fallen completely head over heels in love with the little bundle, as had his brother now - they couldn't imagine their lives without her now.

He made his way into the staff room, stopping every few seconds while his friends cooed and tickled Tilly until she giggled. Finally he stepped through the door to the staff room and let out a long breath. As much as he loved the fact that everyone seemed to love Tilly, he hated running the gauntlet of everyone as he was trying to get to work. He placed Tilly in a rocking chair that they kept in the room so that she had somewhere to sit as they got changed - at nearly six months old, Tilly was already starting to explore the world around her and the different textures of things in her hands.

Ethan made sure that she was secure then made his way to his locker and began to get changed.

No more than two minutes later, the door opened and in strode his brother, "Hey Nibbles," he casually tossed out in Ethan's direction. The younger man took a deep breath bristling already at the dreaded nickname. If Cal noticed this, he ignored it, instead striding purposefully towards his daughter, "Hey there gorgeous - you survived another day with Uncle Ethan then," he chuckled as he tickled her tummy causing her to giggle, "You are such a cutie aren't you? I'll just get changed and I'm all yours," he told the smiling baby.

"I bet you say that to all your ladies," Ethan joked.

"Ha ha funny little brother," Cal smirked as he changed his shirt.

Before he could offer another witty comeback, the door flew open to reveal Max and Lofty discussing how long to stay at the pub that night.

"Do you think you might be able to manage one tonight Cal?" Lofty asked hopefully.

Tilly decided that she was going to make her father's decision for him and began to grumble. Cal smiled ruefully, "I guess she's made my decision for me."

Lofty smiled towards the baby, who stopped grumbling as soon as her father had spoken, "Under the thumb," was all he said.

Ethan chuckled at their banter as he closed his locker door and glanced at the clock, "Well Uncle Ethan still has a few minutes before he goes on shift, so have you got time for a cuddle?"

"I'm not sure that's appropriate behaviour for a hospital, Uncle Ethan," Max said in a baby like voice.

Everyone burst into fits of laughter as Ethan picked her out of the chair and brought her close. As he whispered in her ear, her eyes began to droop as she totally relaxed in his presence.

Suddenly and without warning, a huge blast penetrated the blissful scene, causing the ceiling to cave in from above. As debris rained down onto the staff room, Ethan managed to curl himself around his neice to shield her, wincing slightly as a piece of debris struck his back. It all happened so quickly that they hadn't had time to escape. Before long the dust settled and the mayhem began...

 **So there's chapter 1. Not sure how long it will be, but we'll see. Thanks for reading.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you so much to everyone who read and reviewed this little offering. It's the reviews that keep us going! Here's chapter 2 - hope it's ok...**

Chapter 2

They could hear the alarms blaring from outside, along with the shouting and screaming. Their shocked state was broken by the wailing of their little treasure. Ethan immediately began to check the baby over, thankful to not see any obvious injuries.

"Tilly!" He heard his brother shout, as he proceeded to dash through the rubble towards him, "Is she alright?" he asked breathlessly.

"She seems to be fine..." Ethan replied as he steadily stood up straight, wincing as his back protested.

"Thanks to you - don't think I didn't notice that you protected her. Are you alright?" Cal gave Ethan a quick, visual once over.

"Something hit my back, but judging by what's around us, I got off lucky, what about you?"

"Just some cuts and probably a few bruises - I wonder what happened?" Cal looked around him as lights flashed and dust continued to rain down on them.

"Here take Tilly, I'm going to check on Lofty and Max," Ethan told him as he passed the tearful baby to his brother. Cal took Tilly and held her close to his chest, whispering comfort to her.

Ethan then slowly made his way to where he thought his two friends might be. He pushed debris out of his way to clear a path, "Lofty! Max!" he called, desperate to find them.

"Ethan..." he heard a croaking voice.

He moved another piece of ceiling to reveal a dirty Lofty, "Are you hurt?" Ethan asked the curly haired nurse.

Lofty stood slowly, patting himself down, trying to brush some of the dust off him, "I'm ok. Where's Max? Max!" he looked round in panic.

"Stop shouting Lofty, my head's already hurting," they heard coming from near the now blocked door. The two young men dashed towards the voice and found Max half laid, half sat up against the wall, a piece of the ceiling almost covering him. They managed to pull it off him together, then Ethan crouched down to look at him, "You've got a lovely bump on your head there Max - how do you feel?"

"Just peachy," the young porter mumbled.

Ethan reached into his pocket and pulled out his penlight, "Ah Dr Hardy, never goes anywhere without his torch," Max joked, whilst preparing himself for the onslaught of light that he knew was going to make his headache worse, "You know me so well Max," Ethan chuckled as he shone the light into his eyes, causing the young porter to jolt back out of it's way, "I'm sorry, pupils are a little sluggish, but not to bad - probably a mile concussion. Did you lose consciousness at all?"

Max shook his head gently, "No, I remember every detail of the ceiling coming towards me."

Ethan patted his shoulder, then he stood up stiffly, "You alright Ethan?" Lofty asked after noticing the young doctor looking uncomfortable.

"Oh yes, I'm fine - just a bit stiff after crouching for so long," he told his anxious looking friend, "Can you keep an eye on Max for me please Lofty - try and keep him awake, I'm sure they'll have people trying to get us out..." he finished hopefully.

"Yes no problem..."

Whatever he was going to say next was cut off by Connie's voice drifting through the door. As Ethan was the only one up and mobile at that moment, he made his way to the door, "Mrs Beauchamp?"

"Ethan is that you?" he heard.

"Yes, I'm here with Cal, Tilly, Max and Lofty..."

"What's the situation?"

"We are all relatively alright thankfully. Max was hit by some falling debris and I think has a mild concussion - everyone else seems ok. About half of the ceiling has come down, and the other half doesn't look that stable...what happened?"

"There was a gas leak apparently..." there was no need to continue, "The emergency services are here. We are evacuating the building but they have a squad of men to work on getting you out, so sit tight," she finished in her usual calm manner.

"Sit tight," Ethan mumbled almost to himself, "As if we've got a choice."

"What's that Nibbles?" Cal spoke up, his brow furrowed as he tried to hear what Ethan was saying.

As Ethan rolled his eyes once more at the hateful nickname, he glanced up and noticed a large bulge in the ceiling almost above where Cal was sitting nursing Tilly.

Suddenly, another small explosion occurred and as if in slow motion, the bulge in the ceiling that Ethan had seen began to collapse, "Cal!"

Ethan yelled as loud as he could. He saw his brother look up in horror, but Ethan knew that the older man didn't have time to get out of the way, so he did the only thing he could think of in that split second - he leaped over the debris and threw himself over his brother and neice. He felt the different sized chunks raining down on his back, wincing audibly as a particularly large piece thudded into him. As quickly as it began, it had ended, with everyone coughing as the dust began to get thicker, making it slightly harder to breathe.

Ethan pulled himself up once more, but this time he was visibly in pain, "Ethan..." Cal began.

The younger man put his hand up, "I'm ok. Get one of Tillys bibs and tie it above her nose, might help to cut down the amount of dust she breathes in."

Cal nodded, clearly not happy with his brothers insistance that he was alright, but knowing that he needed to keep his daughter as safe as possible.

After securing the bib, Cal turned back to his brother, who had now been joined by Lofty, who had also noticed that Ethan seemed in pain, "Let me have a look," the young nurse requested.

Ethan reluctantly turned to allow Lofty to raise his scrub top to check on his back. Cal let out a low whistle, "Good grief, it's looking like a map of the world!"

"Yeah, with South Africa looking particularly nasty," Lofty agreed, casting an anxious glance to Ethan's older brother. They both could see that there was a particularly angry looking bruise already forming on the right side of the young doctor's lower back. Cal made a mental note to make sure he checked him when they got out of there.

"Look Ethan, why don't you go and sit down. You've been up and around sorting everything and everybody out, why don't you just get some rest..."

Ethan looked like he was going to argue, but he was overtaken by a coughing fit, causing him more pain as he coughed. Lofty sprang to his aid, guiding him over to one of the bar stools that were still standing and helping him to sit. Ethan nodded his appreciation as he perched on the edge, knowing that it would hurt to much to sit on it properly. Lofty managed to get to the fridge and pulled out a few bottles of water. He gave one to Cal, one to Ethan and took one for himself and Max. Ethan took a big mouthful, almost choking in the process. Cal dripped some into Tilly's mouth, while Lofty gave Max a very small drink to freshen his mouth.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, just listening to the sounds of the outside world - to the efforts that were being made to get them out, hoping that it wouldn't be to much longer. After a few minutes, Ethan got down from the seat and went to check on Max. He was happy that the young man seemed a bit more 'with it' than before, so he and Lofty helped Max to his feet. Suddenly a sharp pain shot up Ethan's back, causing a sharp intake of breath. Lofty looked at him with concern, but Ethan waved it off. Cal had been about to jump up when he face creased, "WHat's that smell? Is it another leak?"

They placed Max on the sofa next to Cal and Tilly and they all began to sniff the air. After a few seconds, Ethan started to chuckle, "It's not gas - well not gas as we know it...when was Tilly last changed?"

Cal looked at his brother as if he'd suddenly grown a second head - then realisation dawned on him and he looked fearfully at his daughter, "The last time must have been before she came here..."  
Ethan glanced at his watch, it must have been about four hours ago that Tilly had been changed. He gingerly retreived the bag and passed it to his brother, "Everything is in there..."

"That's just great! Stuck in a collapsing building and I still have to change a dirty nappy..." he grumbled as he began the arduous task of changing his daughter.

"Ah the delights of parenthood," Ethan remarked, watching closely as his brother was doing his job.

As he was wiping her down she began to giggle, so he couldn't resist tickling her more, making her giggle even harder and everyone in the room smile. As Cal fastened the nappy, Tilly began to cough, "Hey it's alright sweetheart - daddy's got some water for you..."

He dropped a few drops into her mouth after he had sat her up and eventually the coughing ceased, much to everyone's relief, "We need to get out of here soon," Cal said to no-one in particular, but everyone nodded their agreement.

Ethan, satisfied that his neice was alright for now, turned to make his way back to a seat. As he turned, he felt the world tilt slightly. He staggared over to the chair and perched once more on the edge, "Ethan?" Cal questioned once more and once again Ethan waved away his concern.

He closed his eyes so that he could concentrate on breathing, as the pain was becoming more pronounced. Before he knew it, he felt warm hands on his shoulders. He opened his eyes to see his brother looking down on him, concern poorly masked on his face. He sighed. He'd been rumbled, "Let me look at those bruises properly," he demanded. It was only then that he realised that Lofty had Tilly in his arms and she was watching her dad. Cal gently probed different areas on Ethan's back, his furrowed brow giving away his concern over the bruises towards the bottom of his back.

Suddenly, the door flew open and a couple of firemen made their way in, "Is this a private party?" one of them joked. Unfortunately, their sudden entrance had made Tilly jump and she immediately started screaming. Cal launched himself at his daughter, taking her from a grateful Lofty, comforting her as best he could.

Ethan once again took charge, "Right, we have Max over there who is slightly concussed, so we need him out first then Tilly and Cal - they need looking at as a priority..."

The firemen nodded as they helped Max to his feet, closely followed by Cal and Tilly, "Get that back looked at," Cal ordered his brother.

"It's nothing that a good hot bath won't cure," Ethan countered once his brother had left the staff room. Lofty smiled as he to made his way out of their prison.

Ethan took a deep breath and followed his friend. Unfortunately for him though as he took his first step, a piercing pain jolted through his back and he gasped out in pain. He could feel his legs turn to jelly and realised that the ground was rapidly coming to meet him!

 **So that was chapter 2. I think I rattled on a bit to much so I hope it's not to boring! One more after this, but I don't have a set idea for it just yet, so it might take a little longer to upload. Til next time xx**


	3. Chapter 3

**Have I told you lately just how magnificent you Casualty fans are! You are so kind with your reviews and just knowing that you take the time out of your day to read my offerings fills me with joy!**

 **Here's chapter 3 (Obviously), brotherly fluff abound in this one!**

 **Enjoy!**

What's Next? Chapter 3

Ethan could hear voices. Why could he hear voices? Was he hearing voices in his head? He must be going crazy. Why was it so hard to open his eyes? What was going on?

He spent the next few seconds trying to open his eyes, but his eyelids felt as heavy as lead. After a few more tries he was successful, but he soon closed them once again as the light made them hurt.

"Come on Nibbles, I saw those eyes of yours, you can't pretend to me," he heard his brothers voice penetrate the pain.

Now that he had made the first move to open his eyes, Ethan felt more confident that he would be able to keep them open, so he tried again. His gaze fell upon his brother, who was sat in a chair next to his bed...why was he in bed? "What happened?" he asked, surprised to hear how croaky his voice sounded.

"Well little brother, it seems that in all the excitement of the ceiling collapsing on us you managed to pick up a badly bruised kidney as well as multiple bruises and contusions on your back and legs..."

"South Africa..." Ethan mumbled, causing Cal to chuckle a little.

"Yes, South Africa! It was very badly bruised but they assured me that it will heal in time."

Ethan closed his eyes and breathed in deeply, "Must've been running on adrenaline..."

Suddenly, his eyes shot open, "Tilly! Where's Tilly? Is she alright? You did get her checked out didn't you? Why isn't she here? Cal!" He sat up straight in the bed, ready to drag himself out to find his neice. Cal jumped out of his seat and pushed him back gently by his shoulders. When he was happy that Ethan wasn't going to be jumping out of his bed, he moved slightly to the side to show him that Tilly was fast asleep in a cot, "Lofty found the cot. You nearly gave our poor friend a heart attack when you face planted after we were rescued. He said that he'd been talking to you one minute, then the next you were on the floor unresponsive..." Cal shivered as he recalled the moment when he had come across their friend after Tilly had been checked out and had gone to sleep. Lofty had been reluctant to say anything about Ethan, but Cal could tell that he was hiding something. Eventually, he had caved and told Cal everything. Cal had dashed to Resus where they had just finished their initial treatment of Ethan. Zoe had told him what they had found and that with time and rest he would be fine. Cal had helped to move him to a cubicle at the end of the line, so it was far enough away from the hustle and bustle of the busy department - especially as they had not been allowed back in after the evacuation.

"She is alright though isn't she?" Ethan still felt a little panicked as he felt like Cal hadn't answered his question.

Cal perched on the edge of his bed and laid a hand on his arm, "She's absolutely fine Ethan - thanks to you."

"I didn't do anything..."

"Oh you didn't do anything...you just threw yourself over her as the ceiling fell onto you, not once, but twice! You saved her twice today Ethan. I don't know how I could ever thank you. If anything had happened to her..." Cal felt tears begin to sting in his eyes.

"But it didn't - she's alright. You said so yourself..."

"I know, but then I found out about you and I..." Cal glanced up at his little brother.

"Hey, I'm here - relatively unharmed. Your main priority is your little girl, she needs her daddy," Ethan insisted.

"You're my family too Ethan. I'm not just going to toss you aside," the older man looked sickened at the thought.

"I know, but you have to prioritise and that gorgeous bundle over there HAS to be you top priority."

"She is," Cal all but whispered, "But that doesn't mean that I won't worry about you and want the best for you."

"I should hope so," Ethan smiled. The smile soon dropped however, when he shuffled around in the hope of finding a comfy spot, but finding that it pulled on his back instead, causing him to wince.

Cal heard and was immediately staring at him once more, "Just a spasm, I'll be fine."

The older brother ran a hand through his hair, a true sign to Ethan that he was stressed. He caught hold of his hand, "It's going to be alright," he told him gently, shocked when a lone tear tracked down the older man's face.

"I...I still can't believe what happened. I could've lost you and Tilly today! I know what you're going to say...that I didn't lose you, that you're alright, but that doesn't make it any better. You're supposed to be safe in a hospital..."

"But accidents can still happen - and we are alright, both of us...come here..." he pulled on his brother's hand slightly, bringing the taller man closer to him. He gently put his arms around his brother, who had now started sobbing quietly. The younger man tightened his hold and his emotionally exhausted sibling until he was ready to let go.

That decision however, was taken from him by a certain young lady that had decided that she'd had enough of sleeping. As soon as she made a noise, Cal had pulled himself out of his brother's arms and was up and over Tilly's cot smiling at her. He picked her up, "Look, you're Uncle Ethan is going to be alright - isn't that good news?"

Tilly stared at her father, with a slight smirk on her face, just as she decided that she needed to let go of some wind. Cal looked shocked for a split second, then his face broke into a grin - Ethan on the other hand, was trying desperately not to laugh as he knew that it wouldn't be very comfortable. He failed. He let out an almighty laugh and a wince all at the same time. He sat up straight, but leaning forward a little, as the laughing took hold, "Oooo, you've already been teaching her the finer points of releasing wind at the appropriate moments - ouch," Ethan had tears running down his face as he struggled to stop. Although Cal could see that Ethan was in pain from the laughing, he couldn't help but join in and soon both men were beside themselves. Tilly, who was now sat upright on her father's knee, kept looking up at her father, then over at her Uncle Ethan when he made a noise, then she started chuckling, which caused the two doctors to laugh even harder. After about five minutes, they managed to get themselves back under control. Ethan was flagging, he was suddenly feeling very tired, but he didn't want his brother or neice to leave. His older brother had noticed how tired the younger man looked, "Look, we'll go and leave you to get some rest," he told him.

Ethan tried to hide his disappointment, "Oh, ok. Will I see you tomorrow?"

Cal smiled, "Of course. Connie has given us both the day off, so we will be here, won't we silly Tilly..."

Ethan rolled his eyes at Cal's teasing of a baby, "Do you ever wonder what's next - for us I mean? You think back to what's happened over the last year and now we've inherited a baby, but yet we've been in the middle of an explosion, buried under a ceiling! What could be next I wonder?"

"Don't think like that. Focus on the positives..." Cal advised.

Ethan seemed to shake himself, then smiled, "Yes you're right...as usual. Can I hold her for a minute before you take her home?"

Cal smiled as he handed his daughter to her uncle. Ethan winced slightly as pulling her close pulled on his aching joints and muscles, but he didn't care. He traced the outline of her face, her nose, her mouth, "You are so perfect my darling neice..." Cal once more felt himself tear up, "I love you little Tilly just like your daddy does and I will always try my best to keep you safe. Look after your daddy tonight - I think he might need it," he smiled at her as gazed up at him, seemingly entranced by what he was saying.

Cal leaned in to take her from his arms, "You need to rest little brother," he told him as he settled Tilly down, who had started complaining about being away from her uncle. Before he straightened up, Cal leaned over and kissed Ethan on his forehead, causing Ethan to jerk back a little, "Wow Cal, I'm not dieing!" He chuckled, trying to lighten the mood.

Cal couldn't help but smile at this comment, "We'll see you tomorrow little brother.

 **That's it. So not happy with this chapter.**

 **No Cal and Ethan on cast list for Saturday (sad face) so might have to think of a story from the events on Saturday night and put our favourite brothers right in the thick of it!**

 **Just wondering if there are any authors out there writing anything around the 1st anniversary of the crash? I've started reading one, which has got off to a good start, but was wondering if there were any more out there.**

 **Til next time my wonderful Casualty friends xxx**


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